3-year-old dies after falling from 8th-floor window in Kansas City suburb

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A 3-year-old child died Monday after falling from a Missouri apartment window eight stories above the ground.

Battalion Chief Eric Michel told the Kansas City Star that the boy fell around 10 a.m. at Independence Towers, an apartment building in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. The boy was taken to a hospital with critical injuries but died a short time later. His name was not released.

Police are investigating the circumstances that led to the fall, Independence Police Officer Kelley Rupert said.

Resident Elliot West told the Star that people in the building had their windows open because central air conditioning hasn’t been working throughout the summer. Weather on Monday was humid with a temperature in the mid-90s.

A property manager for Trigild Inc, which manages the apartment building, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this year, residents and advocates for tenants joined together to complain about conditions at Independence Towers, alleging that housing units are infested with cockroaches, mice and other pests. They said heat often doesn’t work in the winter, and air conditioning doesn’t work in the summer.

The complex was managed by another company until this spring.